1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to machine tools and more particularly to an automated grinding system for forming high precision fasteners.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In many industries the use of high precision fasteners arises quite frequently and therefore becomes a substantial cost item in the end product. For example, in the course of assembling an air frame the strength and the fit of a fastener is of critical significance and fasteners made to high precision from hard materials have been extensively used in the past. Materials like titanium, when used for fasteners, present extraordinary problems not conveniently handled by the present-day automated production systems. In most instances hard fasteners or fasteners made from extremely durable materials are best finally shaped by grinding in order to achieve a dimension which closely fits the dimension of the fastener opening. In conventional practice this grinding step is normally given to a machinist who then manually inserts one fastener after the other into the machine. Either because the material structures involved are ofter exceptionally hard and it is desirable to produce the raw blanks as close to the final dimension as possible or because the article is extremely small the machinist does not have the necessary surface through which the fastener may be manipulated into the machine. Accordingly, automated advancing mechanisms are therefore necessary. It is such an automated advancing mechanism that is set out herein.